Consumer Nation: How Consumerism Changed America

Reaction Paper 1: Was the American Revolution Largely a Product of Market-Driven Consumer Forces? The readings was a debate of whether or not the cause of the American Revolutionary War was largely a product of market driven consumer forces. T.H. Breen, the author of The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped America’s Independence, believed the war was produced by market driven consumer forces.

Settling in the New World provided both the American settlers and the British government with many opportunities. For the colonists, North America provided an opportunity to improve their lives and escape religious persecution. For the British, settlers in North America provided access to raw materials and new markets in which to sell finished goods. This mercantilist relationship continued for several years, until the colonists began to question Parliament’s right to treat them differently than other British citizens. Taxes were imposed on the colonists as a means of helping to pay the debt Britain had incurred fighting the French.

It is believed that the Indians modified the environment because of abundance of game (Bison and carrier pigeons) in America after their disappearance. It is believed that the Indians were keystone species who controlled the number of game based on their hunting habits. (Pg. 53) When the later settlers came into America they noticed that there were multitudes of bison and pigeons to hunt. While early settlers claimed that these multitudes did not exist while the Indian population was thriving in the New World.

The coming of Europeans disrupted and changed the world of Indigenous

Indians vs. Settlers The intercontinental interaction between the Native Indians and European was very unique during all of the historical interactions among different nations. This interaction was characterized mainly by diversity, which played a significant role in assisting the European in suppressing the Indians and dominating the New Land due to the different ideologies and traditions that served on the behalf of the Europeans. During the colonization era, the relations between the Indians and Europeans did not follow only one track, in which the Indians reacted in different ways toward Europeans, which was also done by the Europeans toward the Indians. This diversity was rooted to the Indian’s traditions, the concept of land and freedom, and the different European policies that governed the

1 - Consumerism developed in America during the early twentieth century in large part due to the boom in industry created by Europe 's inability to create goods after World War I. Combined this with American inventions such as Henry Ford’s assembly line and Americans had money to spend (Schultz, 2013). With the advent of an electrical distribution system, Americans had electricity in their homes for the first time, which led to the desire for all types of electrical appliances to make life easier. All these new products meant that companies had to get the word out about their products which ignited the advertising industry, which led to even more consumerism. Mix into this recipe, the growing credit industry, and you had consumerism like

The economy was a category that experienced a significant growth in the 50’s. Consumerism increased after World War II, when the nation stopped prioritizing the military needs, consumer goods became popular as Americans established lives. Consumers and the economy immediately saw an upsurge in new consumer products. These products included washing machines, dishwashers, frozen foods, television, microwave ovens, lawn mowers and automobiles. Overall, products such as the washing machine and dishwashers made life easier and more efficient for families at home.

Guns were especially important. Indians used guns to defend themselves against other armed tribes. This trade created problems. As the Indians expanded their hunting grounds to find more deer for the colonists, would sometimes trespass on settlers’ farms or to bump into other tribes. They also began depleting the game animals that were native to the area.

During the Colonial Era (1492-1763), colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain; due to the inequitable Stamp Act, the insufferable British oppression, and the perceived tyranny of King George III, the king of Great Britain, however, the colonists were unjustified in some of their actions. In Colonial America, colonists were justified in waging war against Great Britain, because the Stamp Act was unfair and viewed as punishment. Because of the war, Britain had no other choice but to tax the colonists to pay for the debt. For example, according to document 2, the author states that the act was not only for trade but for “the single purpose of levying money.”

British policies established in 1763-1776 greatly affected the colonists and pushed them towards developing their own republican values. All of the acts and taxes the British issued and how overly controlling the British were over the colonists was the starting point, also the increasing rebellions encouraged the colonists to break away from Britain’s rule, and finally the wars that resulted and seizing authority from the British was the final turning point for the colonists in eliminating Britain’s heavy-handed ruling over the colonists. The acts, and taxes that came with most of the acts, that the English imposed on the colonists was a substantial reason the colonists opposed British rule. After the French and Indian war the British found

Since trade was boosted, Americans came to accumulate a large amount of debt to the British creditors. (Henretta & Brody, 2010) In order to extract money from the colonist to repay their debt, the British then began to place tariffs on many common items that had no reason to be taxed. The colonies felt the same way and even though they had an underlying debt, they felt that this was the improper way to go about

A Summary and Response to Andrew Leonard’s “Black Friday: Consumerism minus Civilization.” It all started in the 1960s; Someone thought that it would a good idea to make the day after Thanksgiving a great day for advertising for shopping for Christmas. Andrew Leonard covers this topic of how bizarre shopping has become in recent years in “Black Friday: Consumerism minus Civilization.” Leonard pokes fun at the consumers who rush these stores for the best deals offered up by the crazed advertisements.

During the colonial era of America, Great Britain was able to reek the benefits of this royal colony’s success. This was in large part due to the fact that Britain was able to integrate this society into its imperial system. English leaders understood that the American colonies represented a marketplace for goods, a safety valve, and a place in which competition flourished with other leading empires. One of the most important reasons why Great Britain established colonies in America was to create another form of revenue.

Consumption In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, the concepts of consumerism and utopia are continuously compared and discussed in tandem with one another to decide if any correlation between them is present. Although people may argue that the humans belonging to the World State are happy, their lack of simple human pleasures such as love, religion, intellect, free will, etc, denies the people of actual joy. Since the government is what controls these pleasures by glorifying consumption, the World State’s culture and consumerism must interrelate. The government's control of common human experiences and characteristics such as love, pain, religion, and free will result in the total dependence on the state.

A consumerism makes the community and economy stable which is the goal of the society. In Brave New World, the motto of the government is “community, identity, and stability” (6). Claim: A consumer economy makes the society of Brave New World which is when the most important in the economy is buying and selling of goods and services overall. Establish Evidence: In the Western civilization, Huxley would realize that consumers still make up most of the economy.